Posts Tagged Ridgewood High School Art Club

Our thanks to the students in the Ridgewood High School Art Club and Advisor, Ms. Sarah Machaj, for helping get the Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery Cafe ready for Spring. Our windows now look colorful and festive. We thank these talented young people for their great work and dedication.

For all major holidays, we welcome the creativity and design of the Ridgewood High School Art Club. With the assistance of advisor, Sarah Machaj, the Club always makes our Cafe look and feel better. After two visits recently by the Ridgewood High School Cheerleaders, we thank the Art Club for visiting us today and completing our decor for the upcoming Super Bowl.

Thank you Ms. Machaj and members of the Club for your work at Eli’s and also at the New Horizon Center for the Developmentally Disabled.

Ridgewood High School Art Club students Andy Baker, Katherine
Mistal and Gabriella Marti paint windows at Eli’s Cheesecake World

Art
students deck Eli’s cafe windows

BY WYNN KOEBEL FOSTERSTAFF WRITER

Snow was falling Dec. 1 on the snowmen in the inflatable globe in front of Eli’s Cheesecake World, 6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive. Outside, light snow was falling, dusting the top of the globe, and white lights were glittering on the trees surrounding Eli’s. Inside, students from the 30-member Art Club at Ridgewood High School in Norridge were painting holiday motifs on the windows of the cafe.

“We do this every year – for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Halloween,” said Art Club sponsor Sarah Machaj. “We print out clip art, so the students have some idea where to start. For safety reasons, we only paint a border around each window.”

Students are asked to use bright colors, and they are not allowed to sign their work, Machaj said.

“We look forward to their coming,” said Marc Schulman, owner of Eli’s. “They’re good kids.”

Seniors Katherine Mistal and Gabriella Marti, both of Norridge, share the Art Club vice presidency. “We’ve always done the New Year window here,” said Mistal, 17, adding some finishing touches to a top hat on the Happy New Year window. “We create our own ideas – on site.”

Sophomore Richard Serrano, 16, of Norridge, painted a colorful string of holiday lights around one window and added “Holiday” in script at the top. On a lower window, he painted a chimney, a rooftop and a sliver of Santa’s sack filled with presents. The students use water-soluble tempera paints.

Mistal finished her section of the Happy New Year window with a pair of champagne flutes filled with festive, bubbling – what?

Young artists decorate Eli’s and New
HorizonBY WYNN KOEBEL FOSTER
STAFF WRITER
All signs at Eli’s
Cheesecake World, 6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive, in Chicago, point to a merry
holiday season. Even the fork-and-cake-server weathervane on the back of Moovin’
Eli’s, the corporate cow once featured in Chicago’s Cows on Parade, indicates
nothing but smooth conditions ahead.
Moovin’ Eli’s is dressed for the
holidays – her neck draped in a silver garland tied with a red velvet bow. A
piece of the cherry cheesecake on her back is missing. It dangles from a welded,
garlanded line of forks in front of her nose and out of her reach. But the
holidays are no time for pessimism. Moovin’ Eli’s is also sporting four speedy
in-line skates.
Since August, Eli’s bakers have been working at full
capacity, churning out 20,000 cakes a day.
“We normally produce 100 different
varieties,” said Kari Miller, cafe manager. “During the Christmas season, we add
white chocolate peppermint, egg nog and candy cane to our repertoire. For
Thanksgiving, we have pumpkin, pumpkin mousse and pumpkin praline cakes.
“And
for New Year’s Eve, we’ll have a champagne mousse cake.”
Even the windows at
Eli’s are festive, thanks to the efforts of Art Club members at Ridgewood High
School, in Norridge.
“This is the second year we’ve done Christmas windows
here,” said Art Club President John Kercheval, 17, of Norridge. “We were at
Eli’s for Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving, too.”
The students sketched
their ideas in wax crayons on the windows first. Then they painted their
creations with washable poster paints.
“I haven’t asked her,” Kercheval
admitted, chewing on the end of a brush, “but I already know my mom wouldn’t let
me do this at home.”
Maggi Bojko, 14, of Norridge, and Sylvia Dreg, 14, of
Harwood Heights, concentrated on snow – falling snow, snowflakes and a snowman.
In the corner of their window, they placed a fir tree, too.
Kercheval dodged
Moovin’ Eli’s horns to paint candy canes and a gingerbread house on his window.
Next to him, two girls painted golden bells and a herald angel with a trumpet,
along with a garland, a Christmas stocking and stacks of gift-wrapped
packages.
Rich Serrano, 15, of Norridge, also risked being impaled by Moovin’
Eli’s to encircle his window with an evergreen wreath studded with Christmas
lights. As he worked, he listened to MVD Bayne music on his earphones for
inspiration – metal, of course.
“I got the wreath idea from my mother,” he
said.
Kercheval added Santa, his sleigh and some racing reindeer to his
window. As a finishing flourish, he tossed in a snowball fight, too.
Next to
Kercheval and Serrano, 16-year-old Gabriella Marti, of Norridge, looked ahead,
creating a New Year’s Eve window with fireworks, champagne glasses and
more.
While some students decorated Eli’s, Art Club sponsor Sara Machaj took
another group to work on the windows at New Horizons Center, 4255 N. Oak Park
Ave., Chicago, with the exuberant assistance of a number of the center’s
residents.
When they finished at New Horizons, the students came back to
Eli’s for pizza, compliments of Eli’s.
“I really enjoy this,” said Marc
Schulman, president of Eli’s. “Ridgewood is a great school. They’re always a
pleasure to work with.”
Eli’s Cheesecake World can be reached at www.elicheesecake.com or at (773)
736-3417.

Decking halls and windows

BY WYNN KOEBEL
FOSTERSTAFF WRITER

All signs at Eli’s Cheesecake World, 6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive, point to
a merry holiday season. Even the fork-and-cake-server weathervane on the back of
Moovin’ Eli’s, the corporate cow once featured in Chicago’s Cows on Parade,
indicates nothing but smooth conditions ahead.

Moovin’ Eli’s is dressed for the holidays – her neck draped in a silver
garland tied with a red velvet bow. A piece of the cherry cheesecake on her back
is missing. It dangles from a welded, garlanded line of forks in front of her
nose and out of her reach. But the holidays are no time for pessimism. Moovin’
Eli’s is also sporting four speedy in-line skates.

Since August, Eli’s bakers have been working at full capacity, churning out
20,000 cakes a day.

Even the windows at Eli’s are festive, thanks to the efforts of Art Club
members at Ridgewood High School, in Norridge.

“This is the second year we’ve done Christmas windows here,” said Art Club
President John Kercheval, 17, of Norridge. “We were at Eli’s for Easter,
Halloween and Thanksgiving, too.”

The students sketched their ideas in wax crayons on the windows first. Then
they painted their creations with washable poster paints.

“I haven’t asked her,” Kercheval admitted, chewing on the end of a brush,
“but I already know my mom wouldn’t let me do this at home.”

Maggi Bojko, 14, of Norridge, and Sylvia Dreg, 14, of Harwood Heights,
concentrated on snow – falling snow, snowflakes and a snowman. In the corner of
their window, they placed a fir tree, too.

Kercheval dodged Moovin’ Eli’s horns to paint candy canes and a gingerbread
house on his window. Next to him, two girls painted golden bells and a herald
angel with a trumpet, along with a garland, a Christmas stocking and stacks of
gift-wrapped packages.

Rich Serrano, 15, of Norridge, also risked being impaled by Moovin’ Eli’s to
encircle his window with an evergreen wreath studded with Christmas lights. As
he worked, he listened to MVD Bayne music on his earphones for inspiration -
metal, of course.

“I got the wreath idea from my mother,” he said.

Kercheval added Santa, his sleigh and some racing reindeer to his window. As
a finishing flourish, he tossed in a snowball fight, too.

Next to Kercheval and Serrano, 16-year-old Gabriella Marti, of Norridge,
looked ahead, creating a New Year’s Eve window with fireworks, champagne glasses
and more.

While some students decorated Eli’s, Art Club sponsor Sara Machaj took
another group to work on the windows at New Horizons Center, 4255 N. Oak Park
Ave., Chicago, with the exuberant assistance of a number of the center’s
residents.

When they finished at New Horizons, the students came back to Eli’s for
pizza, compliments of Eli’s.

“I really enjoy this,” said Marc Schulman, president of Eli’s. “Ridgewood is
a great school. They’re always a pleasure to work with.”

In reading my Blog, there is no doubt of our committment to Chicago and to
education. From Wright College, to Vaughn High School to the Chicago High School
for Agricultural Sciences, these are all Chicago institutions with which we have
great partnerships.

In no way though is our support of education limited to the City of Chicago.
As it turns out, our neighboring community right across the street from us is
the Village of Harwood Heights and west of that, the Village of Norridge. The
high school that serves these communities is Ridgewood High School, located at
7500 West Montrose.

For a number of years, the Ridgewood High School Art Club, under the
leadership of art teacher, Sarah Machaj, has come to hand decorate our Eli’s
Cheesecake Cafe windows. We were delighted to be visited by the Art Club
yesterday and thank them for their great Halloween creations. It adds a special
touch for our Spooktacular and for all of our Cafe events. Thanks again to the Ridgewood High School Art Club and to Ms. Machaj.